


Among the very young at heart

by tiedbows



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crushes, Day At The Beach, Day Off, Everyone just needs some fun in the sun, F/M, Gen, M/M, They're still in space, chicken fights, established sheith, the plance is hinted at but they're still cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiedbows/pseuds/tiedbows
Summary: After saving yet another planet from Galra control, the Paladins get a chance to finally relax and have fun.aka the obligatory beach day fic





	Among the very young at heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arahir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arahir/gifts).



> happy birthday jojo! i'm glad we started talking and that i have a new friend in you :D  
> you asked and i did my best to deliver. hope you enjoy!

 “Finally, a vacation!” 

 

Shiro shook his head, clapping Lance playfully on the shoulder. “It’s technically not a vacation, Lance, but it was kind enough of the Muul to let us spend a day here on Aquues as their thanks." 

 

The Paladins had slowly but surely been making progress freeing planets under the control of the Galra Empire. Aquues was their most recent visit. The tropical planet had remained practically untouched prior to Galra invasion, but the base set up there had begun tapping into their resources and damaging the native ecosystems. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Voltron to destroy the base and the machinery harming the planet. Once the locals were free, the Muul elder, the tallest of the short three-eyed blue creatures, granted the Paladins stay on Aquues as they recuperated from their battle. Naturally, no one protested to having a day off. 

 

Allura nodded along in agreement, her high ponytail swishing from side to side as the walked down to the water. "It's rare for these people to open up their recreational spaces to outsiders, especially to let us have leisure time. Their 'beaches,' as you call them on your planet, are the most coveted on this side of the galaxy," she said, eyes shining. "As the Paladins of Voltron, we should be honored by this privilege!” 

 

Lance rolled his eyes, shrugging. "Vacation, break, whatever - I'll take whatever I can get if it means we get to rest here after all of our intergalactic galavanting!" he cheered, pumping a fist into the air.  

 

It wasn't exactly like the beaches back on Earth, but it was close. The so called "sand" on this planet wasn't gritty in its texture; it felt light and smooth, almost like a fine powder. It caked together when water lapped at the shore, mimicking the feel of mud. Aside from the sand's soft red clay coloring and the clear blue of the water, it was reminiscent of life back home. The two white hot suns that Aquues relied on were at their highest peak for the day and radiated heat. 

 

"Hey Keith, last one down to the water is Weblum snot!" Lance shouted as he suddenly bolted for the water.

 

Keith, ever graceful in the face of a challenge, sputtered before dashing off after him. "I'll show you, cheater! Eat my space dust!"  

 

Hunk and Pidge's snickers evolved into full-blown laughter as the two were finally neck and neck in their final steps, before a particularly large wave came up and crashed over them, cutting off their startled cries. They reappeared moments later - Lance spitting out water and Keith’s wet hair flattening against his face. Shiro shook his head at his boyfriend’s sad wet dog look, but it wasn't hard to miss the twist of his mouth. 

 

“Alright everyone, let’s make the most of today,” Shiro said, adjusting his sleeve of what resembled a black and white full body surfer suit. “No telling when we’ll get to do something like this again.” 

 

They all went about their own ways at that point. Shiro made his way down to join Keith and Lance in the water, and in the distance he heard Hunk ask Allura about sand castles on his way down. Allura couldn’t comprehend how “a castle of sand would be sturdy or safe enough to use for a structure,” but based on the curiosity coloring her tone, she was interested in finding out.

 

Pidge sat curled up on the towel Coran had spread out under their UV-canceling umbrella. Her fingers tapped the screen of her tablet, flipping through the Altean flashcards she used for practice. She would have preferred to have brought a book to the beach, but studying the language would benefit her in the long run. 

 

Next to her, Coran looked as though he had stepped out of an old-fashioned Earth ad for men’s swimsuits in the 1920s. His white and blue stripped top came with matching shorts that reached his knees. He looked like the perfect picture of relaxation, reclining on his beach chair and sunglasses perched on his extra sunblock-covered nose.

 

She paused studying to bury her toes in the warm powdery sand at the edge of the towel and smiled. Pidge hadn’t been to the beach since she and Matt were just kids out on a family vacation, but hearing the waves and playful chatter of her friends brought back some nice memories. 

 

It wasn’t home, but it was sure close enough. 

 

“ _Piiiidge_!” 

 

A cloud of rust filled her personal space as Lance slid up next to her in a flash of tan skin and blue swim trunks. Flecks of water landed on her skin, turning the sand residue matte on contact. Pidge coughed and waved her hands around trying to clear the air, and she glared at Lance. Or, at least where she thought Lance was since a fine layer of red dust had settled over her glasses and clouded her vision. He was still staring at her expectantly - a puppy waiting for the stick to be thrown. 

 

The fact that it was kind of adorable pissed her off.

 

“What do you want Lance?” she asked, equal parts reluctant and suspicious as she cleaned her glasses. 

 

“We’re about to play chicken and I need you to be my partner,” he said with 100 percent seriousness. 

 

She stared, unblinking, before bursting into a fit of giggles. “ _Seriously_?” she managed to gasp out between breaths of air.  

 

Lance blinked back at her, face unmoving.  

 

Pidge stopped laughing. “Aw man, you’re serious.” 

 

He quirked an eyebrow at that. “Why wouldn’t I be? C’mon, I need a partner and I _really_ wanna beat Keith!”

 

She groaned. “Why me? Can’t you just get Hunk to play with you guys? I’m sure he’d be up for it. Besides, I’m busy,” she added, raising her tablet for emphasis. 

 

“Um, first of all - no you’re not, you’re reading,” he dismissed, taking her tablet and tossing it to the other side of the towel, ignoring her annoyed “hey!” Lance flicked a rust colored spot off her arm. “And second - if you haven’t noticed, Hunk is a little preoccupied,” he pouted.

 

Pidge turned to her left and true enough, there were Hunk and Allura building their sand castles. Hunk had temporarily halted the construction of his own castle to stare in awe as Allura made what looked a downsized red replica of the Castle of Lions. 

 

She pursed her lips and glanced over his shoulder down to the sea. Shiro and Keith were splashing each other in knee deep water. Shiro stopped to wave at her and that gave Keith the opportunity to tackle him, knocking them both into the water. They laughed, and Shiro brushed Keith’s hair out of his face, smiling like it was just the two of them. 

 

Pidge sent her tablet a longing glance before coming to the conclusion that Lance wouldn’t leave her alone until she agreed to this.  

 

Well, maybe it really wouldn’t hurt to play just one game with them.  

 

“Fine,” she sighed. “But it’s only for one- Ahhh!” 

 

She barely time to react before Lance was dragging her back down to the water by the hand. 

 

“Guys, she said yes! Let’s go! Losers get buried up to their necks in sand for two vargas!” 

 

The four of them were soon standing in waist deep water, though for Pidge it came up halfway to her chest. 

 

“Ok, so we’re going to have Keith against Pidge! Arm against arm! Right versus left!” Lance said dramatically. Keith rolled his eyes. “Get on with it, please.” 

 

Lance stopped his theatrics and glared at him. “Fine,” he huffed. “Anyway, Shiro and I will hold you guys up while you two basically try to knock the other off your partner’s shoulders. First one down loses!” 

 

Shiro nodded. “Sounds good to me.” And then he disappeared under the sea’s surface. 

 

None of them said a word, when Keith yelped and rose into the air, and he scrambled to keep himself upright. Shiro emerged from right under him, his head embraced by Keith’s thighs.  

 

“You ok up there, babe?” he asked, patting his boyfriend’s calf. He voiced held concern, but his grey eyes were filled with mischief. 

 

Keith, on the other hand, was flushed a red that matched his trunks. His blush was slowly spreading down his neck and chest like a bad sunburn. He glared down at Shiro and swatted at his arm. 

 

“You’re the worst,” he said, but it came out strangled. 

 

Pidge and Lance glanced at each other, unsure of how to process what they just witnessed. 

 

“ _Anyway_ ,” she stressed. “C’mon Lance, get me up.”

 

He giggled. 

 

“Lance,” Keith and Shiro said in a flat tone.  

 

He rolled his eyes and mumbled something about them “being no fun,” before he too dived under the water and carefully reemerged with Pidge stable on his shoulders, his hands resting on her thighs. 

 

Pidge pushed down the small flutter in her chest and cleared her throat. “Ok, I think I’m good to go. Ready, Lance?”

 

If she had a better view from her current angle, she would’ve been able to notice the light blush on his face as he stared at her knee. 

 

‘ _Wow, she’s so small. And her skin is really soft…_ ’ he thought and suddenly his face felt like it was burning.  

 

He made eye contact with Keith and saw those violet eyes twinkle knowingly, yet the Red Paladin said nothing. Damn, he’d never hear the end of it from Mullet Head. 

 

“Lance?” she poked at his head this time and he snapped out of it. 

 

“Um, yeah! I’m ready! Never been more ready for anything than this! Haha,” he shouted, trying to play it off like nothing was wrong. Pidge shrugged it off and let out a battle cry as they charged toward their opponents. 

 

It was one thing to see Keith and Pidge fight on the battle field, but it was a whole other experience to see them pull out their dirty moves against each other. Keith had great reach and was quick to block, but Pidge grew up with an older brother and knew how to get an effective jab in. Not even Shiro and Lance were spared from their tactics. Pidge had no problem shoving her foot in Shiro’s face to try and throw him off balance, and Keith’s legs were long enough to push Lance’s shoulder to spin the pair away. Back and forth they went, almost knocking the other off, but they either still managed to stay up or it wasn't quite enough force to topple over. 

 

Fifteen doboshes later and even Keith was panting, but it still seemed that neither of the arms of Voltron were planning on backing down soon. Shiro shot Lance a tired look as water splashed in their faces and all he could think was ‘ _Same_.’ 

 

“Hey guys, can we join in?” 

 

The four of them stopped their play fighting to openly gawk as the Yellow Paladin and Princess approached, Hunk propped on top of Allura’s shoulders like nothing. 

 

“You wanna play, Princess…?” Keith asked, the only able to speak at that moment. 

 

“Of course!” Allura chimed, looking excited as she came to a stop before her warriors. “I’ve already learned how to build a sand castle - I want to learn more about your Earth customs!”  

 

Lance was the next one to snap out of it. “Alright, it’s us against you and Allura!” he cried. "Get ready to go down!”

 

Keith and Pidge never stood a chance. 

 

They flopped over into the water not a moment later, leaving Hunk and Allura to cheer at their victory. “This is so fun! Humans have such great games!” Allura exclaimed. The pair fist bumped. 

 

“Best two out of three?” Hunk asked. 

 

 

 

The game of chicken lost its competitive edge not long after, everyone laughing and playing in the water once a large wave came and finally knocked Hunk off of Allura’s shoulders. It eventually became a contest to see which pair could withstand the towering waves. As predicted, they all lost.

 

It was shaping up to be a perfect day by their standards. Everyone was happy and more carefree than they had been in weeks. The day couldn’t be going any better. 

 

Nothing could possibly ruin- 

 

“Yoo hoo!”  

 

They all turned toward the direction of the familiar call, only to gawk upon the sight of Sven in what could only be a full body black and green surfer suit with a wobbly Slav perched on his shoulders, two free sets of arms waving about at them. 

 

"Mind if we join in the fun?" Slav asked, two sets of arms clinging to the sides of Sven's head. “I knew there would be a 76.30582 percent coincidence that we would all run into each other in this reality! What brings you all to-” 

 

A sudden yelp and loud splash cut him off, surprising and soaking everyone. They all turned just in time to see Keith burst through the water’s surface, gasping for air and still as stunned as the others. A slight ripple heading toward the far end of the shore caught his eye and Keith narrowed his eyes. 

 

“Shiro! What the hell! Get back here! _Takashi_!” he yelled, swimming furiously after his boyfriend with all his might.  

 

No one said a word as they all watched as the distance between Shiro and Keith shrank, the sound of water and Keith’s swears filling the silence. 

 

Slav blinked. “Huh, I actually didn’t see that one coming.” 

**Author's Note:**

> fyi slav and sven are on their honeymoon #svav
> 
> thanks for reading! 
> 
> you can find me [here](http://hyxlyns.tumblr.com/)


End file.
